Appearing originally in CounterPunch, ICH, Huffpost, Musing the Masses, and AMASS Magazine, the opinion-editorial essays in this book comprise a running commentary on many of the timely, controversial issues of the day that erupted after the 2020 national election. The title essay's focus on the relation between democracy and authoritarianism presents the framework for making sense of these issues. The essays are a bit longer than those typical of the genre, written over a stretch of time that allowed me to research the issues and reflect on related op-ed commentaries. And they've been revised some since their original publication, given more time to breathe and evolve while preserving the spirit of the originals. The impulse to write these op-eds came through passionate conversations with many of the enlightened citizens of San Pedro and Long Beach, small business owners and employees whose views about the state of our nation matter for debating its future.